The RAF

The beginning of the RAF was what we see in the movie; a left wing, political activist part that was considered communist. They were influenced by the Watts Riots in 1965.  What they believe was that many lawmakers were continuing on in a Nazi, fascist form of ways.

The second generation began after the originators were captured and put in jail. The force feeding and eventual death of Holger Meins was the main event that kicked off their generation. They generally worked during the times of all of the trials and convictions of the first generation of the RAF members. The “suicide” of Ulrike was widely disputed and many believed conspiracy which only further drove them to continue their ways. The events in the fall of 1977 was called the German Autumn. It was regarded as possibly the biggest criminal and political showdown that Germany had experienced since the end of World War II. The second generation was brought to an end with the death of Hanns-Martin Schleyer.

The third generation was leading to the end of the RAF as a whole. The fall of communism and the leaving of the Soviet Union from Germany took a hit on the association’s foundation. However, attacks and bombings continued well into the nineties. It became clear that their goals became more about freeing their leaders that had been captured and less about political change. The German government agreed to release some of the prisoners as long as the RAF promised to no longer take such aggressive and violent actions. They agreed to the offer and in 1993, the RAF came to all but an end.